Western State comes to Boulder with a new head coach and 12 new players (out of 14) on the roster. The Mountaineers' two returning players scored a total of 44 points in 31 games last year (1.4 per game).

While the result should look a lot like other recent exhibition games for the Buffs -- they defeated Regis by 38 a year ago and Western State by 31 in 2010 -- it is an important step for CU as it prepares for the upcoming season.

"I love our progression," head coach Linda Lappe said. "We have a scrimmage (last Saturday) against a team where it's closed, in our practice uniforms, but our players have some nerves going into that because it's something new. So, they get that out of their system. Then we get to put on the uniforms and get a little bit of a crowd (for the exhibition game).

"I think it's a great tune-up for our first game, so we don't have quite so many nerves going into the first time we put on uniforms."

The Buffs are still nine days away from the official season opener, against Idaho, but they've been practicing for several weeks, so Lappe is hoping for a good performance from her squad. She also expects to give most, if not all, the players on the roster some significant playing time.

"We want to see maximum effort," she said. "Everybody has to do their job. I think every player will be able to contribute for the most part. We want to see everybody doing their job and playing their role."

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Coming off a 21-14 season and a second consecutive trip to the WNIT quarterfinals, the Buffs have four returning starters and nine players back from last year. Even with five freshmen on the roster, Lappe won't accept sloppy play Friday night .

"I want to see that we're playing fundamental basketball and we're sharp in what we do," she said. "It's early so there's going to be mistakes ... but in terms of turnovers, I don't want to see sloppy turnovers."

Sophomore Jen Reese said the Buffs are eager to hit the court against somebody new, but echoes Lappe in wanting to see crisp play.

"We want to be together in making smart passes, making smart plays and taking care of the ball," Reese said. "Turnovers need to go down a lot."

In reality, Friday night is just a practice. As with any other practice, Lappe and the Buffs will concentrate simply on improving as a team.

"We want to get better at what we do," she said.

Follow Brian on Twitter: @BrianHowell33.

CU women's basketball preview

TODAY: The Colorado Buffaloes (21-14 in 2011-12) host the Western State Mountaineers (16-15 in 2011-12) in a 7 p.m. exhibition game at Coors Events Center.

BROADCAST: Radio -- None. Online -- Pac-12 Digital Network.

STORY LINES: This is Colorado's only exhibition game. ... The Buffs are 2-0 in exhibitions under head coach Linda Lappe, defeating Western State 93-62 in 2010 and Regis 78-40 in 2011. ... The Buffaloes return four starters and nine players overall from last year. ... The Mountaineers lost all five starters and 11 of 13 players from a year ago. The two returners -- sophomore Jade McIntosh and junior Cara Walderman -- played just 168 combined minutes a year ago. ... CU's Chucky Jeffery has averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 assists in exhibition games the past two years.

KEY STAT: Since 2002, CU is 14-0 in exhibition games with an average margin of victory of 31.3 points. Overall, CU is 22-0 in exhibition games.

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